Tech Categories in the Reference Catalog

Overview

The TBM Taxonomy is a standardized classification system within the Technology Business Management (TBM) framework that categorizes cost sources, technologies, IT resources, applications, and services, promoting alignment among IT, Finance, and Business Unit leaders. For more information on TBM, refer to the white paper The TBM Taxonomy on the TBM Council’s website.

Tech categories in the reference catalog facilitate the adoption of the TBM Council’s TBM Solutions layer version 4 as the standard taxonomy, which is recommended as a best-practice approach.

By using information available in the reference catalog, you can:

• Understand and define your tech category taxonomy according to TBM's recommendations using the provided template
• Import the TBM Taxonomy into your workspace and customize it to your needs

Exploring the TBM Taxonomy

To gain deeper insights into the TBM Taxonomy and decide whether you want to adopt it, you can use the provided template that contains the standard TBM hierarchy and a snapshot of your workspace with the TBM Taxonomy applied.

To download the TBM Taxonomy template, on the Tech Category tab of the reference catalog, under Understand TBM Taxonomy, click Download Template. In the template, you can view recommendations and guidelines on how to proceed.

By using the template, you can:

• View the different categories and definitions of the TBM Taxonomy Solutions layer, including examples and sample products
• View the currently defined taxonomy in your workspace and map your tech categories to TBM-based tech categories following our recommendations
• Assess the mapping of TBM-based tech categories to IT components linked to the catalog

Evaluating the TBM Taxonomy: Key Considerations

To determine if the TBM Taxonomy suits your needs, consider the following questions:

• Does the TBM Solutions layer meet your criteria for a standard tech category taxonomy?
• How does your current taxonomy compare to the TBM Solutions layer?
• Does your current taxonomy have more or fewer details than the TBM Solutions layer?
• How would the mapping to your IT components change if you adopt the TBM Solutions layer?
• Do you want to manage the assignment of tech categories to IT components, or would you prefer to do it automatically?

Your answers to these questions will guide your decision on whether to adopt the TBM Taxonomy, and if so, whether to adopt it fully or partially. Once you've decided on your tech category taxonomy, you can proceed to import the TBM Taxonomy and assign IT components to TBM-based tech categories.

Importing TBM-Based Tech Categories

You can view all TBM hierarchies and import all or specific TBM-based tech categories into your workspace.

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Note

Before importing TBM hierarchies, ensure that the meta model configuration of the workspace supports at least level 3 hierarchy for the tech category fact sheet.

To import TBM-based tech categories, follow these steps:

1. In the administration area, navigate to the Reference Catalog section, then go to the Tech Category tab.
2. Under Import TBM Taxonomy, click Import TBM. You land on the page displaying TBM-based tech categories available for import.
3. Select the tech categories that you want to import, then click Import & Link.

This imports any nonexistent tech categories along with their full hierarchy and automatically links existing tech category fact sheets with the same name to relevant catalog items.

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Tip

As an alternative method of importing TBM-based tech categories, you can download the TBM Taxonomy Excel template and then upload it to the inventory using the Excel import option. To learn more, see Importing Fact Sheet Data Through Excel File.